Chapter 52: Halo

Chapter 52: Halo

On the deck of the Red Force, Lucky Roux stared at the scene unfolding in the sky, completely stunned. "Louis is this strong?"

Beside him, the rest of the Red Hair Pirates were in no better state, all of them slack-jawed. They only knew that Louis was stronger than most of them, but they had never imagined he was this strong.

One after another, searing spears streaked across the sky like a meteor shower, vaporizing the clouds and mist as they plummeted straight down. Wherever they passed, the atmosphere was instantly ignited, and a sea of fire consumed the sky, dyeing it gold.

Shanks watched Louis, who stood tall in the firmament, a gratified smile gracing his lips. He then quickly turned and spoke to his crewmates behind him. "Let's go! We'll go see Uta, and then come back to help Louis!"

Before the attack even landed, a scorching heat wave was already rushing toward the sea's surface. The air above the dog-headed warship distorted, and the soldiers were baked until their faces were red and they were drenched in sweat.

Seeing this, Garp shed his somewhat casual demeanor, his face gradually turning serious. He took a deep breath, then looked up, his eyes fixed on the figure faintly visible amidst the sea of fire in the sky.

"Flames... white wings..."

"A legendary angel?"

The next moment, Garp used the Rokushiki technique, Geppo, and shot into the sky. The massive force of his launch even left a huge depression on the surface of the sea. The resulting waves scattered, pushing the warship away from the battle.

In the world, the number of powerhouses with the ability to fly is extremely small, but every powerhouse possesses some degree of aerial combat capability. As one of the world's top-tier fighters, Marine Hero Garp was naturally no exception. He used Geppo to its fullest extent. With each step, he propelled himself upward at a speed no less than a bullet's. In just a moment, Garp, braving the scorching heatwave, met the meteor shower of falling spears.

His black iron fists flew out, and one powerful shockwave after another burst forth, successively shattering the continuously falling spears of fire. For a moment, the searing spears disintegrated inch by inch, exploding like fireworks and turning into a rain of golden fire that scattered through the air.

"Hahahaha!"

"This move of yours is far worse than Sakazuki's!"

Amidst the rain of fire, Garp's heroic laughter echoed in mid-air.

To this, Louis had little reaction. He just hoped Garp could still say the same thing in ten years when he saw his grandson's chest being pierced by Sakazuki.

High in the sky, Louis stood with his spear and sword in hand, his wings spread high, his golden hair flying, his entire body bathed in fire. Facing a powerful enemy after a long time, Louis burned his flames to their maximum.

Perhaps it was due to the Angel's Blood, but at this moment, the flames on Louis's back disappeared. In their place, a halo wreathed in fire rose behind his head. This was something Louis had never expected. The last feature that could have passively revealed his racial identity had actually vanished. Unknowingly, Louis had taken another step closer to being an "angel."

Snow-white wings, the ability to heal all living things, and now a halo forged from fire—if you said Louis wasn't an angel, probably no one would believe you.

The next moment, Louis tightened his grip on his spear and the Seven Star Sword. He once again controlled the flames coiling around his wings to propel himself into a high-speed dive. Almost in an instant, Louis crossed a thousand meters. The spear's blade, carrying a blazing sun, pierced and tore through the sky, aiming directly for Garp's chest.

"Blazing Sun," Louis whispered in his heart.

Facing the golden figure rushing at him at high speed, Garp was not surprised at all. Over the decades, he had fought countless powerhouses. His abundant combat experience was more than enough for him to handle super-high-speed attacks.

Garp grinned, reached out a blackened hand, clenched his fist, and slammed it directly into the metal shaft of the spear.

BOOM—

With one blow, Garp knocked aside the spear carrying the sun, causing it to land beside him. He then quickly grabbed the metal shaft of the spear, holding it tight. His other iron fist flew straight toward Louis's face.

Louis was unafraid. He decisively brought the Seven Star Sword up to block.

BOOM—

A blow powerful enough to shatter a mountain was focused entirely on the Seven Star Sword in Louis's hand. The atmosphere roiled with shockwaves, forming a ring of fire that expanded around the two of them.

They were locked in a brief stalemate. Garp, with a heroic smile, said to Louis, "Kid, stop being a pirate with that Shanks brat! Come be a Marine!"

The first moment Garp saw Louis's face, he was shocked by his youth, knowing this was another Charlotte Linlin. He had then searched his mind for a similar bounty poster, but in the end, found nothing. Thus, this idea was born.

However, Louis, locked in the stalemate, gave no reply. Even the malice in his eyes did not change.

Garp frowned. This was a kind of malice he had rarely ever seen. Not even the most vicious great pirates at the top of the New World had ever shown this level of malice towards the Marines.

Just as he was about to ask, he seemed to sense something. He instantly let go of the spear and protected himself with his indestructible Armament Haki.

The next moment, the blazing sun on the spear instantly detonated. Terrifying heat radiated out, the light overwhelming the sky. The radiating high temperature spread, igniting the sails of the distant warship and the uniforms of the Marine soldiers, turning it into a giant torch standing on the sea.

The massive impact sent Garp, who was protected by his Haki, flying back, causing him to fall several hundred meters in an instant. But he quickly stabilized himself, removed the Haki protecting him, and revealed that only his clothes and hair were singed.

Garp first glanced at Louis, then at the warship, which had now become a torch. "High temperature, huh? Troublesome indeed..."

Louis once again beat his wings and dived toward Garp. This time, a pale golden light coated the Seven Star Sword and his spear blade. If it hit, and the opponent's Haki wasn't strong enough, it would cause irreversible damage. The ability of the Life-Life Fruit was never just about bestowing life; it also had the ability to take it away.

At the same time, a golden light rose from Louis's body and expanded at an extremely fast speed, enveloping Garp. As far as the eye could see, a golden canopy reached from the high clouds down to the deep sea, replacing the once-colorful world and dyeing everything gold.

In the perception of those with Observation Haki, mysterious life signatures had appeared out of thin air in both the sky and the deep sea.

Within the golden canopy, Garp's powerful Haki ensured he was completely unaffected. He ignored the rapidly diving Louis and instead turned sideways, throwing a punch at the sea's surface.

BOOM—

A fierce punch-gale descended, directly creating a tsunami on the sea's surface, which instantly swept toward the burning warship.

After doing this, Louis, his wings spread high, was once again reflected in Garp's eyes, the pale golden light-coated spear blade aimed straight for his throat.